


Spellbound: Better than Gold

by halloweennut



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Multi, Older! Pines Twins, Stalking, creepy stalker in the woods au, human!bill cipher, originally this was going to be a cute lil coffeeshop au but nope it spiraled out of control, overall creep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:38:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4760180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halloweennut/pseuds/halloweennut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And to think it all began because of a cold day in June</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello and Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One mocha soy latte please, with whipped cream and sprinkles.

               Despite having multiple summers in Oregon under his belt, the onset of random cold - well, colder - days always surprised Dipper, especially in mid-June. Eventually random trips to a local coffee shop became a welcome reprieve from the chill.  Especially since it was better than whatever the Stans had back at the shack- stuff that more than likely hadn’t seen the life of day since the 80s. 

               “I’m telling you Paz, it’s like drinking lukewarm bitter water,” Dipper explained to Pacifica en-route to the shop. “It’s seriously gross, and does jack-shit to keep you awake.”

               “Oh stop complaining, Dip dop,” Mabel said, looking over the front seat of Pacifica’s car. “You could always drink Mabel Juice, but that’s a dish best served cold.”

               “Didn’t your grunkle...whichever ban it from the premises?” Pacifica asked, briefly glancing from the road to her girlfriend. Both of Dipper and Mabel shrugged.

               “Stanley did, but Ford has the recipe and drinks it on the down-low,” Mabel said.  Paz wrinkled her nose, none too fondly remembering when she tried it, sealing her fate as a permanent tea person. Mabel cooed at the blonde, poking one of the crinkles on her nose with a whispered ‘boop’, startling a laugh from her.

               "Babe, stop or you can walk the next two blocks to the café," she said with a smirk.  "And your brother too."

               "Aw what? Don't punish me because-"

               "I'm a useless bisexual? It's a fact that I will not deny, uh-huh no ma'am," Mabel cut-in as she crossed her arms.

               "Not what I was going to say, but true," Dipper replied, leaning forward between the two of them as Paz pulled up the curb in front of the shop. "Aaaand noses pays!"

               Dipper and Mabel quickly touched their noses, as Pacifica looked on annoyance.

               "You two are children," she said, opening her car door. "I was going to pay anyway, you weirdos."

               "We're your weirdos!" Mabel called as she raced to her side, linking an arm with hers. Dipper joined his sister’s side.

               “Also true,” he added, skipping ahead to open the door for them. “Ladies first.”

               “Then by all means, Dipper, go right ahead,” Pacifica responded, dramatically gesturing her free hand. Mabel snorted, jokingly smacking her while Dipper mocked indignation.

               “Well, then, maybe I will,” he replied, shoving his nose in the air as he entered. “I’m ordering the most expensive thing they have.”

               “I don’t care. Not really my money we’re spending anyway, so be my guest,” the blonde shrugged, detaching from her girlfriend so they could fit through the doorway.

               “It that case, I’m getting whipped cream and sprinkles! Wooo!” Mabel cheered, moving ahead of everyone to quickly place her order. Once they all had, they leaned against the counter, either chewing away at a coffee stirrer or happily chatting. It didn’t take long for the drinks- despite being the town’s only real coffee shop, it didn’t exactly get the most customers on the main strip of Gravity Falls. At least it made service quick.

               “I swear, there’s going to be another turf war between the Manotaurs and the Multibear soon,” Dipper said over his shoulder at the girls as her opened the door. “Tensions are running really hi-AH!”

               Most of Dipper’s steaming-hot coffee was on his shirt, the cup landing on the pavement with a quiet thud and a splash as the rest of the coffee pooled at his feet. Dipper tugged his shirt away from his skin, looking up at who had run into him. The man seemed like he was all angles, from his canary-yellow hair down to the cut of his jacket and slacks. He frowned, but it was quickly replaced by a smile, but it felt almost calculating compared to apologetic, the white teeth glaringly standing out against his dark, sepia skin. The oddest feature about him surprisingly was the small, black eye-patch covering his right eye.

               “Hey why don’t you watch where you’re going!” Mabel exclaimed, before her brother could attempt to get a word out. “He could’ve gotten seriously burned!”

               “Mabel, I’m fine. It was just an accident. I wasn’t watching where I was going in the first place,” Dipper said, looking back at the stranger, who simply waved his hand with a laugh.

               “It was just as equally my fault, and I apologize for the coffee and the shirt,” his one eye traced the coffee stain on his chest before going back to meet Dipper’s. “I will gladly compensate for your drink.”

               As he reached for what Dipper assumed was his wallet, he shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I think I’m good on the coffee front. Thanks though. “

               “Not a problem,” he replied, stepping past the trio to the door. “Have a good one.”

               “Who was that? I’ve never seen him around town before,” Mabel said, staring after him as they walked toward the car. Dipper nodded.

               “I think...yeah, that was Bill,” Pacifica replied in what almost seemed like disbelief, as she looked back at the shop, seeing a shock of blond hair through the storefront window.

               “Details?” Dipper asked, sliding into the backseat, carefully moving so his still somewhat hot shirt didn’t touch his scalded chest.

               “He’s some weird, nouveau-riche recluse- the only other rich person in town other than my parents. He lives somewhere in the woods. To be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t stumbled across his house yet,” Pacifica said, closing the car door. “I’ve only met him once and that was about...14 years ago for some weird photography thing at his house.”

               “And you’re sure that’s him?” Mabel asked.

               “Yeah, I’m fairly certain,” she replied, pulling the car back into the street. “Don’t know how he lost the eye though.”

               “If he is a recluse - one with a lot of cash - why would he come to town for coffee?” Dipper asked, looking through the rear window to watch as Bill exited onto the street, pausing for moment to pick of Dipper’s coffee cup.

               “Maybe he was bored? Maybe he’s running errands? Maybe he’s looking for cute, younger-than-him boys?” Mabel teased, reaching behind her to smack her brother’s knee.

               “What, no, Mabel! He’s got to be in his 30s!” Dipper exclaimed. She scoffed.

               “Please, he certainly wasn’t staring at any coffee spills, bro-bro,” she said. “One day you’re just going to have to face that you’re leggy and chest-y and older ladies and gents are going to eye you up and down.”

               Dipper sputtered for a response, before looking over at the blonde pleadingly. “Pacifica!”

               Paz laughed, and shrugged her shoulders, looking at the rear-view mirror at Dipper. “He could be into dudes. I think he had a girlfriend the first time I saw him, but hey, it’s a mystery.”

               Dipper let out a scornful ‘hmph’ sinking back into his seat, mumbling something about never asking her for help again. Paz smiled, and settled her eyes back in the road. Something tugged at the corner of her mind, but she couldn’t quite place it, and chose to ignore it for the rest of drive back to the shack.

\-------

               A twenty slipped into the tip jar got his name. Another got more details on him - his residence, his family, how long he had been in town...twelve consecutive summers. For a moment, he did vaguely remember that same blue hat on a small boy, running through town as though on some life-or-death mission. Then again, he had been in the papers from time to time, the Gideon Affair, the Northwest Disaster...but he had barely registered as a blip in the radar.  It was funny how time changed things. Time had always been an odd concept - never quite played into his hands how other things did. It’s not as though Bill didn’t like time, considering the changes it had made.  Occasionally time was in fact on his side.

               As he stepped out into the chilled, June air, he couldn’t help but notice the coffee cup on the ground again. He smirked, and picked up the memento of his first encounter with Dipper Pines. Careful not to crease it too much, he tucked it away into his jacket, a walked down the street to his car. Casting one last glance to the town, he hopped in, and drove off, heading down deep into the shadowed woods.


	2. Haunting

               After that first initial run-in, it seemed to Mabel that Bill was in town a lot more. Maybe it was because she had finally seen him, she now noticed him more often in town. Maybe he was just in town more overall. Either way, it always looked like he was just waiting for something, like some sign from some foreign deity or what have you, before ducking into the coffee shop, and leaving shortly afterwards.  She shrugged off the behavior regardless- everyone in this town was some form of eccentric, even, oddly enough, Tad Strange, who was the most normal person possibly in the county.

               But something that struck her was how, when or if he looked at her, he just seemed to see right past her, like she was some reflection in a window to peer through. Mabel attributed that to the eyepatch, seeing as it probably messed with his depth perception as much as when Dipper or Stan wore them when giving tours.  And he probably only vaguely remembered her.

               Overall, his newly found presence, while registered in her mind, did not raise any alarms, despite any and all warnings that Grunkle Ford, not to mention Grunkle Stan,  had imprinted into her head. He was paranoid from whatever happened to him all those years ago beyond the dismantled portal’s reach. Besides, it was Gravity Falls. Weird and weirder happened all the time, and it was nothing she, her brother, or their merry band of friends couldn’t handle.  And Bill Cipher was just another resident; whatever his deal was, she instinctively knew that her brother would handle it - women’s intuition, if you will.

               After watching Bill duck into the coffee shop the third time she had been in town on her own, Mabel couldn’t help but wonder how he took his coffee: whether he was like her brother –black with too much sugar-, her –completely sugar overall – or if he drank tea, like the Pacifica.  It was an odd thought, to figure out how someone took their coffee if they drank it all, but Mabel was home to odd thoughts.

\---

               Bill was first and foremost a tea drinker. He could barely stand the smell and taste of coffee, which he had been subjecting himself to nearly every day for the past two weeks. At least they had some half-way decent teas. Even though it had only been a few days coming in and out of there, the barista had his tea at the ready, and some clever little quip about him being the only ‘regular’ regular or having his order memorized by heart, so he better not go and change it.  He sincerely thought to change it completely, just to spite them.  Bill Cipher was and could be many things, but to say he was predictable was almost insulting. He was simply waiting for opportunity.  

               Of course, opportunity’s twin sister was the only one he really saw around town, once more counting that day. There was always that high, that moment of anticipation when he looked to see if Dipper was with her.  But fortune and fate were simply not in his corner those few times, and neither had they been the rest of the week.

               ‘This is about patience. We’ll simply have to wait until he’s ready to come out,’ Bill thought with a smirk as he purposefully ordered a different drink, watching the server’s face fall a little. ‘And fortune does favor the brave, after all.’

\---

               “Hey, Grunkle Ford- I’m doing a grocery run to town, need and or want anything?” Dipper called down to the basement, jingling the keys to El Diablo. Ford appeared a moment later from the elevator, holding a small slip of paper in his hands.

               “Yes, actually. I placed an order for a book a few weeks back. Could you possibly go see if it’s in? It’s the newest book in this one mystery series I used to like back in the day,” he asked, handing over the paper.

               “Sure what book-“Dipper asked, taking the yellow slip to see that it was a receipt from 1982. “You…you’ve been out of the portal for like, twelve years. That book has literally been there for over 40 years. Why haven’t you gone to go pick it up?”

               “I would say that I have been busy, which is true, but actually I forgot about it until I found this buried in some old schematics,” the older man answered with a shrug “If they tell you they need more money, just…use more Stan-bucks, I suppose. The owner was kind of a jerk back in the eighties.”

               “Oh my god you and Stan are both terrible and I’m afraid to see myself in thirty plus years.”

               “Beware family genetics!” Mabel called from behind the register.” OoooooOOOooooo!”

               “You should beware too! You have the same genes!” Dipper said, walking over to the register to flick his sister’s nose before turning back to Ford. “I’ll see if they still have your book.  Mabel, you want anything?”

               “Can you get me an iced coffee? With all the stops? I’m dying,” she replied, throwing an arm over her eyes dramatically. “And if I die, I’ll become a ghost. Then I’ll make even spookier spooky noises. OoooooOOOOoooo.”

               ‘It’s about time we got a heat wave after those couple of days,” Ford said, adjusting his glasses as he came to lean against the counter. “The basement is freezing!”

               “You built a hi-tech lab in the basement-“Mabel started, only to have Dipper finish. “But didn’t put in a heater.”

               “To be honest, I didn’t think of it,” the older man replied, and once he saw the deadpan stares of his niece and nephew, explained. “I’m from Jersey- I didn’t think I’d need a heater in summer!”

               “This coming from a genius! Ha!” a loud voice called out from the living room.

               “Of course you’d be listening- ahem, shouldn’t you get going, Dipper?” Ford coughed, ignoring the choked laughter. Dipper nodded, waved the paper in the air, and walked out to the car.  A few minutes later the loud peal of tires on gravel echoed through the shack. While Mabel inherited Stan’s gift of gab, Dipper had somehow gotten the driving skills.

               Soon enough, he was pulling into town, carefully parking the car on the street closest to the coffee shop, since it would be his last stop on his trip. Patting his pocket to make sure the ancient receipt was there, he walked down the street to the bookstore. Against all odds, the book was there, buried next a few old, fellow, mystery novels, edges yellowing, but in good condition overall. Afterwards the groceries took little to no time at all, and he quickly threw them into the car with the book, desperate to get something to drink- the sudden heat made his mouth dry, and every inch of him felt too warm.  Throwing a quick glance over at the car, he opened the café door-

               And ran into someone, spilling their drink on their chest and onto the ground.  He looked up in surprise and with an apology on his lips when his eyes were bombarded with bright yellow hair.

               “Oh, wow, I’m – Bill?” Dipper stuttered. The man look down at his now stained dress shirt, and looked at him with a good-natured smirk.

               “Well, well, well, it seems now we’re even, eh?” he said, plucking at his shirt, showing off the light brown stain like a badge.

               “I’m really sorry about that- I’ll buy you a new one of…whatever you were drinking, Bill,” Dipper offered, gesturing inside with a blush. The blonde shook his head.

               “Tea, and I was nearly done with it anyway. Besides, you never let me pay for your drink either,” Bill replied with a toss of his head. “And by the way, how do you know my name, when I don’t know yours?”

               “My friend Pacifica told me,” he said, and quickly clarified at the somewhat confused look. “Um, Pacifica Northwest?”

               “Oh! I knew I knew that face,” Bill laughed. “I haven’t seen her since...well, that’s unimportant. But what about your name?”

               The bright golden eye stared at him, and Dipper felt himself blush unwillingly under the gaze. “I-it’s –ahem – it’s Dipper Pines.”

               Bill, with a benevolent smile, held out a hand which Dipper shook.

               “It’s been a pleasure to properly, well, semi-properly meet you, Dipper,” he said, gesturing back at his shirt, something that Dipper couldn’t help but slightly chuckle at. “I hope our paths cross again. Though, maybe not by way of spilling things on each other. You seem like an interesting character. “

               Bill walked away with a curt wave, and Dipper watched as he climbed into a sleek black car before walking into the café proper.

\---          

               Bill had nearly choked on his drink, and had to blink a few times when he saw the brunette appear on the street from nowhere after two weeks. He had watched as he walked into the bookstore, then out with a yellowed book and into the small grocery down the block. Had he pressed his face against the glass at least once? Yes, but he was the only one in there, and he paid the barista very well that day, so there was not one word about it from the teen.  Eventually Pine Tree- not the cleverest nickname, but a nickname nonetheless- wandered out with multiple bags in his arms, stopping to deposit them in the trunk of an old El Diablo before heading towards the door. It barely took a second to get from his seat at the window to the door, gears purring away in his head as he abandoned his regular haunting place near the window. A second later his drink was on his shirt.

               “Oh, wow, I’m - Bill?”


End file.
